AAAAAH!!! Need to blow off steam to people who may understand...

This is bicycle related but has nothing really to do with commuting and quite a bit to do with spousal annoyances. I just need to get this off my chest.

So two nights ago I found an insanely great deal on a really nice '06 Giant OCR road bike with lots of upgrades on Craigslist. I've been lusting for a road bike for a while. I emailed the seller and he replied the next morning (yesterday) saying it was still available.

So, I send my wife an IM about it. Tell her it is an awesome bike, great deal, looks like it will be the right size, yada yada yada. My wife, much to my surprise, starts really encouraging me to go get it. Telling me to drive an hour and a half after work to go ride it. Buy it.. It can be considered my birthday/Christmas present.. She sounded much more sure about spending the money then I was. Wow!

So I email the guy to arrange to come see it and he says that he has 2 other people who are really interested. Not wanting to miss out I take off work early. I went home to change first and my happy new bike mood went to pot. My wife was clearly ticked that I was going to go buy this bike. Wouldn't say anything of course, but was very short in her communication and was visibly annoyed. I persisted and then she unloaded about spending too much money on bicycles and not understanding why I need a road bike when I have my hybrid commuter. None of these are particularly bad arguments, but... WHY WAS SHE SO POSITIVE ABOUT THE WHOLE THING ON IM?!?!?!?!?!

So we discuss the stupid thing for an hour and a half.. I say that's fine, no big deal, I'll just let it go. Then she 180s on me and starts insisting again that I go get it.. Starts to cry over the stupid thing. Ugh. At this point I genuinely don't want it because the joy of purchasing it is totally gone and now it is just an object of guilt.. Oy'.. She keeps going and going on about it... Apologizing and saying no she really does want me to go get she's just being hormonal.. It soon becomes clear that if I now don't go get it she will be beating herself up over it for the next week.

So fine. With an hour and a half wasted I throw my bike rack in the backseat and drive to downtown Cleveland. An hour and a half later I pull up in the dude's driveway. See the very beautiful bike sitting there. Hoorah... And then the seller comes out to tell me that someone had shown up 5 MINUTES AGO and bought the bike.

*sigh* And as an extra bonus the timing worked out such that I got to drive back home, without the bike, in Cleveland rush hour traffic.

Ended up telling my wife that I didn't like how the bike felt and decided to pass. I was just way too pissed to tell her what actually happened.

But for a good long while on the ride home I *seriously* considered finding an LBS and buying the hottest damn road bike on the rack that I could find.

*Note: In all fairness my wife is pregnant and her hormones are all over the place. And I do love her very much. And she totally doesn't understand my bicycle love or why a mountain bike, a hybrid commuter bike, and a road bike are different beasts with different purposes so it makes it hard for her to understand why I would want this thing to begin with.

Once you got the initial approval, deal with the rest later. Seriously, she said yes, then was just being all short, next time try to make nice AFTER the bike is sitting in the house. I always let the wife know "We can sell it and make every dime back if you're still annoyed in a week". So far, haven't had to sell anything I didn't want to yet. The pro to being a bargain hunter is you can ALWAYS resell it for what you paid and then some, just gotta be patient when looking.

2008 Kona Fire Mountain/Xtracycle
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I void warranties.
Cycling well IS Cycling Advocacy
Originally Posted by Steely Dan: if you're riding a bike and not having fun, then you're doing it wrong.

This is why the wife and I have separate financial accounts, and a house account.
As long as we contribute the designated amount( that we agreed upon) to the house account each month, we can spend the remainder of our money as we see fit without all the personal fireworks.

I'll be happy to sell the bike to you...at a bit of a markup.
(I'm kidding)

Dude, you hit the nail on the head...your wife is pregnant. It must be your first (congrats either way) or you'd have known better.

"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey

This is why the wife and I have separate financial accounts, and a house account.
As long as we contribute the designated amount( that we agreed upon) to the house account each month, we can spend the remainder of our money as we see fit without all the personal fireworks.

Not sure how to make that work in our house. She is a stay at home mom.. Trying to set this up would mean assigning a salary to being a stay at home mom which would basically translate into me getting a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th job in order to be able to cover her salary.

So, a ship sinks at sea, and the lone survivor, an engineer, barely pulls himself onto what appears to be the only land in sight.
The next morning, while walking along the beach looking for food, he comes across an oxidized oil lamp. He begins to polish it, and out pops a genie, who (not surprisingly) offers up any wish the man's heart desires.

The man says "I'd like a bridge off of this island to the nearest place with an airport".
The genie responds "that is impossible! The nearest major island is more than 100 miles away and the ocean is very deep. There is no way that I could do that - you are an engineer, certainly you can understand THAT. You must htink of something else."
So, after some time, the man says "I'd like to understand the intricacies of the female mind - moods, thoughts, perceptions, emothions, and how they all interact. I want to truly understand what makes them tick."

The genie pauses, "Hmm.................... what kind of car would you like on that bridge?"

This is why the wife and I have separate financial accounts, and a house account.
As long as we contribute the designated amount( that we agreed upon) to the house account each month, we can spend the remainder of our money as we see fit without all the personal fireworks.

+1 works for me too.

The more you drive the less intelligent you are. - Tracy Walter as Miller in Repo Man.

Not sure how to make that work in our house. She is a stay at home mom.. Trying to set this up would mean assigning a salary to being a stay at home mom which would basically translate into me getting a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th job in order to be able to cover her salary.

There's your answer. She pregnant with hormone swing while worrying about the baby's financial needs. She loves you and gave you the OK to get another bike but yet she probably have other worries in her mind. The kids need a daddy but yet the daddy is out getting a roadbike. Her mindset is thinking that roadbike translate to faster speed and more chances of injuries. I bet that spike her hormones level.

Suggestion. Like someone else already mention, better to ask for forgiveness then permission. Get it first and don't tell her the real price if you can get away with it. Yes she'll have her suspicion, but she'll most forget it if she see how happy you are with your purchase. Just beware though, all good things comes with a price, you might have to be a "Honey Do" for a short period.

"Difference between a well dressed cyclist riding a two wheeled bicycle and a badly dressed cyclist riding a Recumbent is only a-tire"
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Some people got their head so far up their butt such that the only thing they hear is muffle when trying to explain anything to them! I only wish they take it out sometimes to smell the roses.

"Difference between a well dressed cyclist riding a two wheeled bicycle and a badly dressed cyclist riding a Recumbent is only a-tire"
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Some people got their head so far up their butt such that the only thing they hear is muffle when trying to explain anything to them! I only wish they take it out sometimes to smell the roses.